


A Miracle

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fix-It, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 06:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: She wakes up in the shallow water...





	A Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS AHEAD
> 
> I'm still in denial after Endgame and I am drowning myself in fanfics. So much that I finally wrote my own and I fixed this fucked up canon.
> 
> Hope you enjoy😊

 

She wakes up in a shallow water. Her senses are a little dull and there is this annoying pounding in the back of her head. She tries to sit up but instantly feels dizzy, the world around her spinning. But suddenly strong arms are lifting her up and helping her stand up.

_Clint_ she thinks as memories come back to her with full force, almost knocking her out again.

_You're the pain in my ass, you know that?_

_Let me go._

_No... Please, no._

_It's okay._

She fell... No - she _jumped_ \- off that cliff. To save everyone. To save _him_. To make sure he's gonna see his family again.

She was glad his face was the last thing she could see before the end - even if the pure, horrifying pain in his eyes and his tears tore her heart apart.

But if she fell - if she _died_ \- why and _how_ the hell is she still here?

Her eyes finally regained their focus and the face she's seeing now in front of her is, honestly, the last one she would expect.

"Steve?"

The Captain sighs in relief and smiles at her, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

"It's so good to see you again, Natasha."

She studies his face. There is something... different about him. Not physically, really - there is something in his eyes, she doesn't know exactly where to put it.

"Steve... What's going on?" Her eyes widen at the sudden realisation. "Wait- Are you...?"

"No, Nat, we're both alive and breathing. Trust me."

"Then how...?" She's confused beyond imagination. Her head hurts. She was _dead_ minutes ago.

"Where's Clint? Please, tell me he made it." She feels like she's having a panic attack, she can feel her heart trying to rip itself out of her chest. If something happened to him...

"The Bartons are fine. Nothing to worry about."

_The Bartons..._

"The plan worked? Did we win?"

Rogers smiles at her as he runs his hands up and down her arms.

"Yeah, Nat. We won. Everybody's back..."

There it is again - something in his eyes, like a shadow. Something that tells her not everything is 100% alright.

"Why do I have a feeling there's a 'but' comimg..."

Steve looks down and takes a big, shaky breath. When he looks up at her again, the tears are back in his eyes.

"We lost Tony."

 _No_.

If it wasn't for Steve she would be on her knees again. Her heart hurts, the tears spill out before she knows.

Tony is dead.

That stupid, self-sacrificing idiot.

She would be laughing at her own thought if she wasn't crying already. Wasn't she a stupid, self-sacrificing idiot herself _?_

Steve brings her close to him so she can cry into his chest. Few sobs escape her, grief overcoming her. They stand there like that for a while, but she manages to get herself together after few minutes. There will be time for mourning later. Now they need to get the hell out of here.

So she steps out of Steve's embrace, wipes the tears from her face and asks the next most important question.

"How the hell am I here?"

"It looks like there's a loophole in this whole 'soul for a soul' deal. When we were done with everything - few days after Tony's funeral - I went to return the stones in their rightful places in the timeline. That's why I'm here. I came here first. And when I returned the Soul Stone... Well - we both woke up here. Believe me, Nat - I had no idea this would happen, but I'm so happy it did."

She smiles at him. "Yeah, me too. So what now?"

"Now I'm sending you back. Bruce is expecting me, but he's gonna get you instead. I still have five stones to deliver."

As he says this, he lifts a small case in his hands. Then he puts his right hand on her shoulder and looks her deeply in the eyes. "Take care of them, Natasha. You were always the glue that kept us all together. No that Tony's gone, it may be even harder to do so."

She looks at him, confusion all over her features.

"Why does it sound like a goodbye, Steve?"

But Steve just smiles at her.

"I'm not coming back, Nat."

And she instantly knows what that means.

"So... 1945?"

"46 actually. New York. She was working as an agent in Strategic Scientific Reserve." He looks so excited when he says it. She couldn't be more happy for him. She hugs him again.

"Tell her she's the luckiest girl in the world."

"I will."

"Oh and don't forget you owe her a dance." she teases as she lets go of him.

"Thank God you tought me."

"What are friends for... Happy ever after, Captain."

"Thank You.... You ready?"

She sets her device on track.

"Hell yeah."

She gives him one last smile before hitting the button.

 

 

........

"...And returning - in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

She lands on the platform not as swiftly as she wanted to, immediately falling to her knees, but she gets up just as fast. Just to see Bruce starring at her, his mouth wide open. There's Sam behind him - oh God, _Sam_ \- who's holding his now forgotten taco in front of his face, looking at her like he's seeing a ghost. Well - that's what she is for them.

She looks around - they are in their old facility, the Stark Tower. She wonders why. She'll get her answers soon enough. Right now she brushes some hair out of her face and smiles at her friends.

"I know you were expecting someone else, but I hope you don't mind."

And suddenly she's attacked with hugs from every corner. Bruce lifts her up so high her feet don't touch the ground. Then Sam is spinning her around. And Rhodey is there, and he's crying, and that makes her cry too. She made it. She's back.

She's shaking Bucky's hand when she hears a gasp behind her. She turns around just to see Wanda standing in the doorframe, hand covering her lips in manifestation of shock, before she rushes foward to wrap her in a hug.

"What the hell- How are you even here?" The girl asks when she lets go of her. Natasha can now feel everyone's gaze on her.

"It's a... Definitely weird story."

So they sit down on a couch in the living area (after they wrapped her in blankets - even when she told them she's fine over and over again - and gave her a cup of hot tea) and she's telling them about her miracle of a resurrection.

Then she asks about Pepper and Morgan and Rhodey tells her that they went back to their cabin right after the funeral. He calls her every day to check up on her. Natasha notes in her mind to visit them in the near future. But now...

 

"Are they- How is he?" She asks Wanda. The girl takes a heavy breath before she speaks.

"Honestly... Not good. He's trying to... cover, you know? He puts on a brave face for everyone's sake, but he's broken inside. He doesn't sleep. Says he can't. It's bad."

Natasha can feel her throat tighten. There was so much she wanted to say to him on Vormir. How much he means to her, how much she loves him, how it fucking hurts to leave him behind like that - even if her intentions were good. She knew he will be devastated when she pushed herself from that wall and yanked her hand out of his grasp - his painful screams will never leave her mind. She also knew that in time he'll heal. Maybe he's not gonna be perfectly okay, but it's gonna be better.

 

"Is he home now?"

"Yes, they are all back at the farm."

"And everyone are back?"

"Laura and all three kids. Everyone are okay - phisically at least."

She's on her feet in an instant, the blankets abandoned on the couch, and she's ready to leave. Rhodey tries to convince her to stay, because it's getting late, and she just _came back from the dead_ , but if she doesn't go there right now, she's gonna loose her damn mind.

So less than two hours later Sam is landing the Quinjet few yards away from the farm, dropping her off.

It's already after dark, but the lights are on. She stands there on the porch for a minute, suddenly unsure. What she's gonna say? How will they react? She finally takes a big breath and rings the doorbell.

It's Laura who opens the door. She looks exactly the same as the last time Natasha had seen her. _5 years ago_. Her eyes look tired, and red, as if from crying. She's holding a towel in her hands, probably from doing dishes, but it falls down forgotten on the floor when the woman throws herself at her, crushing her with an embrace, before Natasha can even say a word. And they're both crying now.

"How?" Laura asks, wiping the tears from her face.

"Let's say a miracle" Natasha laughs and smiles at her. Next thing she knows Laura grabs her hand and pulls her inside.

"Clint? Honey, come here quickly, you need to see this." she calls out and Natasha can hear heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"Everything okay? I heard the doorbell-" He freezes when he sees her. God, he really looks like a mess and Natasha wants to cry again. He's pale as a sheet, bags under his eyes tell her he hadn't bat an eyelid probably since he came back from Vormir. He's so shocked he has to brace himself on the stairs railing.

"N-Nat?" He whispers as his eyes fill with tears. Surely not the first time this week.

She takes a careful step forward and looks him in the eyes.

"It's me, Clint. Really. I'm back." Her voice breaks at the last word and she can feel her cheeks getting wet again.

He slowly approaches her, not really believing what he's seeing, not yet, and carefully takes her hands in his. Then he slides them up her arms to her face. The tears fall freely from his eyes right now.

"But how?"

She smiles through her own tears as she puts her hands on his arms.

"'A soul for a soul' remember? Turns out it works in reverse too."

And then he's holding her - no, _clinging_ to her - and sobbing into her shoulder, his arms around her so tight she almost can't breathe. And she's sobbing now too. She hides her face in the crook of his neck and digs her fingers into his shoulder blades so hard in must hurt. He's okay, they're all okay, and he's here, and she's here... She can feel Clint moving his one hand from her back to cradle the back of her head, his fingers feeling for the injury from the fall. But she knows he won't find anything. He then moves his head and kisses her cheek, then her temple, then he leans away a little to kiss her forehead. He doesn't let go of her even for a second. He rests his forehead against hers after that, just like he did on Vormir, and lets out a shaky breath.

"I thought I lost you, Nat. I thought-"

"I'm here. Right here, Clint." she assures.

He opens his eyes and stares into her own.

"Don't you ever dare do that to me again."

"You were going to do the same thing, you idiot" she says but she smiles anyway.

He smiles too and moves to cup her face in both of his hands.

"I am never letting you go again. Never. Don't even ask me. I won't do it."

"Me neither."

He brings her close again and this time she can rest her head on his chest as his arms circle themselves around her shoulders. She breathes in his comforting scent, she listens to his fast heartbeat and closes her eyes. She finally feels like she's home.

Then she hears another set of footsteps on the stairs and as she looks up, she can see Lila and Cooper standing there, both in their pajamas. Laura is following them with little Nate in her arms.

Lila approaches her first. The girl is crying and Natasha sweeps her into her arms instantly. Cooper follows and now she's holding both kids, kissing their heads.

"Oh my God, Auntie Nat" She can hear Lila whispering into her shoulder as Clint moves closer to put his hands on her and his daughter's backs. Natasha then moves to Laura and lightly kisses the top of her youngest godson's head. Little Nate doesn't know what's really going on, but he recognizes her and smiles.

"I missed you so much, guys."

Laura takes her hand again.

"We missed you too. Honestly, Nat, what were you thinking?"

There's no jugdement, no accusation in her voice - just warmth and worry.

"I thought- Getting you back was all that mattered. Whatever it took. You are more important than me-"

"Don't." Laura interrupts her. "Don't you ever say that okay? You're family, and we love you, and we never, ever wanna lose you again. Understood?"

God, she loves them so much. She really doesn't deserve them.

"Understood."

"Good." Clint says as he wrapps his arms around her once more. "And now you're gonna tell me exactly what happened. Details please."

 

 

.......

 

  
It's well after midnight and Laura finally managed to get the kids to bed, giving Natasha and Clint some much needed privacy. They're standing on the porch right now, in each other's arms again, with her head on his chest, and his nose in her hair. His hands draw soothing circles on her back in slow motion and he drops kisses on the top of her head from time to time. It's peaceful. Calm. Relaxing.

"I never want to lose you again. I love you too much." He whispers into her hair and she holds him tighter.

"I love you too, Clint. And I promise - you won't lose me. Never, okay? Never."

He kisses her forehead again and nuzzles his nose against hers. They look into each other's eyes again and with that they make a promise no words can describe.

A promise to never let each other go.

 


End file.
